Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Birth Pains
For a long time, we couldn't decide in which maternity hospital Olga was going to have her baby. There are about 5 of them in Kemerovo and since recent times you can pick any one of them. Until recently, you had to have your baby delivered at the maternity hospital nearest you.
In the end we decided to contact Olga's uncle, who is a big shot surgeon at the provincial hospital, for advice. He told us he would arrange everything and that all we had to do was call him some 3 days in advance. He did arrange everything and got us in touch with the head doctor of the maternity hospital. Apparently, she owes him a very big favor, because she said this man's relatives only get single rooms, don't have to pay for anything and I would be allowed to visit Olga once in a while.
In fact, without connections, women from Kemerovo can't even get into this hospital, because it is meant for people from the whole Kuzbass region with particularly difficult pregnancies. This doesn't mean that it's high-tech, modern, or even up-to-date, though. Nevertheless, there ARE quite a few women from Kemerovo at this hospital.
You see, that is how everything is done in Russia. Connections are extremely important. It's a system of 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours', and it is so deeply ingrained that I'm not sure it will ever disappear. Same thing with the bribes....
Anyway, Olga was invited to have herself admitted to hospital on Wednesday 15 November at 16:00. At that stage, the doctor at the maternity hospital wasn't sure whether she (Olga) would give birth herself or if they'd perform a Caesarian. We were pretty convinced that she would be operated on, because we had been told by Olga's regular gynecologist(s). The system in Russia is very different from that in Belgium, where you choose one gynecologist and stick with him till the end. In Russia, you have one regular gynecologist at a 'check-up' hospital (a place where doctors congregate, but where you don't go to deliver). This gynecologist is replaced by another one when (s)he is not available. Then, there is another doctor/gynecologist at the same hospital who takes care of giving you the necessary medication. There is also a regular doctor at this hospital, who checks your general health.
This 'check-up' hospital I mentioned does not have facilities to perform ultrasounds, so you have to go to other places for that. You are sent to quite a few during your pregnancy. You can do all this by public transport (lots of pushing and pulling), by taxi (reckless drivers), by car (probably safest, if you can evade the occasional hole or bump in the road) or on foot (lots of walking). Nevertheless, you are advised to travel as little as possible and not to exert yourself.
So, like I said, at the maternity hospital they weren't sure yet, but we were pretty sure. They wanted Olga to come early because there were some more tests and procedures they wanted to perform.
When we got to the hospital with quite a heavy corduroy bag filled with clothes, food, some medication, cutlery and things to keep busy, we were told that you are not allowed to take such a bag to your room and that everything has to be in PLASTIC bags (for reasons of hygiene, I presume). Luckily most of the stuff inside the bag was in plastic bags and we had taken some extra.
That's how I left Olga, surrounded by about 10 plastic bags. Apparently, after that, she was told to take a shower and shaved in certain places.
At about 21:00, I think, she got to her room, which she had to share with 3 or 4 other women.
At 6:00 they are woken up to get ready to have their blood pressure taken and be examined. At about 9:00 they have some porridge for breakfast (the tastiness of which varies from day to day). On her first morning, Olga was moved to another room, now with 5 room mates, all of which much younger then her.
The days went by and supposedly they were going to operate on Saturday. Olga slept poorly because of the snoring of her room mates and one day she even came home to sleep (and apparently she wasn't the only one). You see, you are free to leave the hospital, because that's the only way to see your relatives (I'm not sure if this applies to maternity hospitals exclusively, or to hospitals in general). If you want to give your wife/daughter/friend something (mainly food, because the hospital chow isn't haute cuisine) in hospital, you have to either leave it at the entrance in a plastic bag and it will be taken to them, or if she can, she can come to you and collect it. She can also go for walks and go wherever she likes. However, men are not allowed into the maternity hospital (which might be just as well, considering many Russian men). So, we went for walks every day, including Monday.
Now, where was I? Ah, Saturday! In the end it turned out they wouldn't operate on Saturday, more likely on Monday. On Monday 20 November, Olga was told that it would probably be Wednesday or Thursday. But at about 21:30 the baby decided he'd had enough and Olga's water broke. She collected all her things and moved to the 3rd floor where she was to be operated on (her room was on the 1st floor). At 21:45 the head doctor arrived and at 23:39 the baby was born through means of a Caesarian. I don't know what happened or why it took them such a relatively long time, but that's the whole story.
Now Olga is in the recovery room for a day, maybe two. Then she will move to the 2nd floor to another room. I don't think I'll be able to see the baby (and maybe even her) until she is released from hospital.
To be continued...
In the end we decided to contact Olga's uncle, who is a big shot surgeon at the provincial hospital, for advice. He told us he would arrange everything and that all we had to do was call him some 3 days in advance. He did arrange everything and got us in touch with the head doctor of the maternity hospital. Apparently, she owes him a very big favor, because she said this man's relatives only get single rooms, don't have to pay for anything and I would be allowed to visit Olga once in a while.
In fact, without connections, women from Kemerovo can't even get into this hospital, because it is meant for people from the whole Kuzbass region with particularly difficult pregnancies. This doesn't mean that it's high-tech, modern, or even up-to-date, though. Nevertheless, there ARE quite a few women from Kemerovo at this hospital.
You see, that is how everything is done in Russia. Connections are extremely important. It's a system of 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours', and it is so deeply ingrained that I'm not sure it will ever disappear. Same thing with the bribes....
Anyway, Olga was invited to have herself admitted to hospital on Wednesday 15 November at 16:00. At that stage, the doctor at the maternity hospital wasn't sure whether she (Olga) would give birth herself or if they'd perform a Caesarian. We were pretty convinced that she would be operated on, because we had been told by Olga's regular gynecologist(s). The system in Russia is very different from that in Belgium, where you choose one gynecologist and stick with him till the end. In Russia, you have one regular gynecologist at a 'check-up' hospital (a place where doctors congregate, but where you don't go to deliver). This gynecologist is replaced by another one when (s)he is not available. Then, there is another doctor/gynecologist at the same hospital who takes care of giving you the necessary medication. There is also a regular doctor at this hospital, who checks your general health.
This 'check-up' hospital I mentioned does not have facilities to perform ultrasounds, so you have to go to other places for that. You are sent to quite a few during your pregnancy. You can do all this by public transport (lots of pushing and pulling), by taxi (reckless drivers), by car (probably safest, if you can evade the occasional hole or bump in the road) or on foot (lots of walking). Nevertheless, you are advised to travel as little as possible and not to exert yourself.
So, like I said, at the maternity hospital they weren't sure yet, but we were pretty sure. They wanted Olga to come early because there were some more tests and procedures they wanted to perform.
When we got to the hospital with quite a heavy corduroy bag filled with clothes, food, some medication, cutlery and things to keep busy, we were told that you are not allowed to take such a bag to your room and that everything has to be in PLASTIC bags (for reasons of hygiene, I presume). Luckily most of the stuff inside the bag was in plastic bags and we had taken some extra.
That's how I left Olga, surrounded by about 10 plastic bags. Apparently, after that, she was told to take a shower and shaved in certain places.
At about 21:00, I think, she got to her room, which she had to share with 3 or 4 other women.
At 6:00 they are woken up to get ready to have their blood pressure taken and be examined. At about 9:00 they have some porridge for breakfast (the tastiness of which varies from day to day). On her first morning, Olga was moved to another room, now with 5 room mates, all of which much younger then her.
The days went by and supposedly they were going to operate on Saturday. Olga slept poorly because of the snoring of her room mates and one day she even came home to sleep (and apparently she wasn't the only one). You see, you are free to leave the hospital, because that's the only way to see your relatives (I'm not sure if this applies to maternity hospitals exclusively, or to hospitals in general). If you want to give your wife/daughter/friend something (mainly food, because the hospital chow isn't haute cuisine) in hospital, you have to either leave it at the entrance in a plastic bag and it will be taken to them, or if she can, she can come to you and collect it. She can also go for walks and go wherever she likes. However, men are not allowed into the maternity hospital (which might be just as well, considering many Russian men). So, we went for walks every day, including Monday.
Now, where was I? Ah, Saturday! In the end it turned out they wouldn't operate on Saturday, more likely on Monday. On Monday 20 November, Olga was told that it would probably be Wednesday or Thursday. But at about 21:30 the baby decided he'd had enough and Olga's water broke. She collected all her things and moved to the 3rd floor where she was to be operated on (her room was on the 1st floor). At 21:45 the head doctor arrived and at 23:39 the baby was born through means of a Caesarian. I don't know what happened or why it took them such a relatively long time, but that's the whole story.
Now Olga is in the recovery room for a day, maybe two. Then she will move to the 2nd floor to another room. I don't think I'll be able to see the baby (and maybe even her) until she is released from hospital.
To be continued...
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